Amazon execs use of secure message app confounds FTC investigation, agency claims [Video]

The Federal Trade Commission wants to know more about how Amazon — and its executives — use the encrypted messaging app Signal.

The agency accused Amazon of using the app, which can be set to automatically delete messages, to hide information related to the FTC’s ongoing antitrust investigation into the company. After a years-long probe that started in 2019, the FTC sued Amazon last September, alleging the company used unfair business practices to maintain a monopoly in the e-commerce markets.

In a court filing this week, the FTC moved to “compel” Amazon to share more information about its policies and instructions related to using the Signal app, a messaging service that offers end-to-end encryption to keep texts and phone calls secure. The FTC accused Amazon executives of manually turning on the feature to delete messages in Signal even after the company learned that the FTC was investigating and had told Amazon to keep documents, emails and other messages.

Many …